Cross Cutting Small Logs On The Band Saw

Hi, I would like to be able to Cross Cut Small Logs on the Band Saw. The Logs I have in mind are no longer than 30 Inches and no more than 10 to 12 Inches in Diameter. My main concern is safety and the correct procedure to successfully cut through the log. I have thought of all sorts of jigs etc to achieve this and searched the internet. There are plenty of good tips for ripping from pith to pith and then creating planks. I just can’t seem to find much on actual Jigs that show safe hold down ideas so that the stock can be pushed through a nice sharp blade and achieve the slices for Bowl Turning, Lidded Boxes or whatever other reason I wish to Cross Cut Logs.Any advice on this would be very much appreciated. Greetings to all the Lumber Jocks out there.

You can find many band saw sleds in jig section in projection section of this site. One of the safest ever found was the one found in this article. Like a lot of folk use a furniture bar clamp to secure logs for ripping. Just find a sled design you like and build one.

G’day, Cliff. It seems that the main concern with cross cutting a log would be to keep it from spinning or turning during the initial cut where the is no support down to the table as the blade hits the wood. After that, you should be able to glide thru following a line or just eyeballing it square.

If I had to do one, I think I would screw a piece of wood to the front side of the log so it hits the table, just next to the blade. You will most likely turn off all the sap wood so the screw holes in there will be gone. The piece of wood will counteract the torque to turn the log until you get to the center where you have full table support. For a large heavy long, you will need an auxiliary table to support the weight hanging off the saw.

I do small ones on the miter saw and I use an electric chain saw on the larger ones.

Cheers, mate!........................................Jim

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!

I think I know what you’re asking here, it’s the instability of the log that is your concern. I too plan to use some logs I have to get some small thinnish planks for delicate projects. I’d chainsaw a flat side and run it through the joiner so I could get a flat surface on the BS table. With a good flat side you can then cross cut on a miter saw provided the log isnt too thick, and from there you can cut some nice 1/2 inch planks on the BS. Basically you’re a mini mill and you have to think like a miller. You can get lots of interesting cuts this way, quartersawn, and so forth. I’d start with a chainsaw and a very large log, cut it down to size and get me some flat sides and mill some wood.

-- A positive attitude will take you much further than positive thinking ever will.

I haven’t made one myself, but I had a friend in my old turner’s club that had a monster bandsaw that he used in conjunction with a sled to cross-cut logs into slabs for platters and shallow bowls.

I don’t have any pictures of it, but if memory serves me correctly, it was an inverted T-shaped jig constructed of 2 pieces of plywood … one piece served as a ‘base’, the other as a fence that was about 300mm high.

The fence was secured to the base with triangular braces that doubled as handles. It had a guide on the bottom that fit the miter track on his saw. He used quick-clamps to secure the log to the fence.

-- Gerry -- "I don't plan to ever really grow up ... I'm just going to learn how to act in public!"